A woman's touch: book highlights Worcester porcelain female modellers and painters

It asked whether the world famous factory could produce a model of Princess Elizabeth in her uniform of Colonel in Chief of the Grenadier Guards, seated on her favourite troop horse Tommy. More than that, it requested the modeller be Doris  Lindner.

This was royal acclaim indeed for a lady who had been one of the Golden Generation of modellers that had helped revive the flagging fortunes of the Severn Street factory in the 1930s and whose story appears in a new book Ladies of the Porcelain by local author Colin Millett, a life-long Royal Worcester enthusiast.

In fact, as Colin says, the Tommy  commission was followed 24 years later by Doris creating a model of Queen Elizabeth II’s own daughter Princess Anne on her European gold medal winning event horse Doublet, which became one of the finest Limited Edition equestrian models ever to have come out of Royal Worcester.

Sally Wood painting a Royal Worcester vase

In her 30-year career with the company, Doris produced at least 168 different models, making her one of its most prolific as well as best known artists.

The Lindner name is one among 28 women modellers and painters to feature in the book, all having been part of the Royal Worcester legend. Right from Anne Crawford Acheson, who was born in Northern Ireland in 1882, up to Sally Wood, who went to Perdiswell Secondary School, Worcester and joined the company in 1987 at the age of 16.

Ruth van Ruyckevelt was one of Royal Worcester’s leading modellers in the 1960s and 70s

“Ever since the founding of  the Worcester Porcelain Company in 1751, women played an important role and made significant contributions to the history and development of this world-renowned factory for over 250 years,” said Colin.

“Whether as modellers, painters, gilders, burnishers, transfer printers, handle casters, inspectors or simply transporting wares around the factory, many women contributed to ensure Worcester’s deserve worldwide reputation.

As part of her Victorian Collection Ruth van Ruyckevelt created The Tea Party in 1964

“The successes of the women  I have featured were not defined by how much money they made, but by the difference they believed their work made to other people’s lives. Especially those who admired the fine and beautiful artistic works they created.”

In fact the book is filled with around 200 colour images, many of them featuring some of the most notable works the British fine china industry has ever created. Prominent among the names is, of course, that of Dorothy Doughty, who was actually born in San Remo, Italy.

Dorothy Doughty. Eighty craftsmen were sometimes needed to produce her bird models

A keen ornithologist, she designed for Royal Worcester an exquisite series of bird models, which, as with Doris Lindner, were among the very finest the company made. Each needed the skills of eighty craftsmen to produce and new techniques were developed in mould-making, casting and decorating to reproduce Dorothy’s vision.

Dorothy Doughty’s beautiful Nightingale and Honeysuckle

Colin added: “Dorothy Doughty produced models of breath-taking beauty. She was a modeller of immense importance and in every sense a great lady of ‘The Porcelain’.”

But there again, to really catch the eye of British Royalty, it had to involve a horse.

Princess Anne on Doublet by Doris Lindner

Ladies of  ‘The Porcelain’ – Royal Worcester lady modellers and painters by Colin Millett costs £9.95 and can be bought by emailing colinmillett@gmail.com or from the Museum of Royal Worcester in Severn Street, Worcester, where these superb models and many more are on display.